Facebook: it's the world's biggest website, by some calculations, and fast overtaking Google as the technology poster child of our time. But don't underestimate Google, which is reportedly working on a new social networking project to try and rival Facebook's domination in the space.
Social networking is one area where Google has failed to get traction, at least in the English-speaking world. It owns Orkut, which is big in Brazil and India - but where Facebook is starting to close in on their market share, according to comScore. Buzz, Wave, Friend Connect - none have quite made the impact Google would have liked, though worthwhile experiments. So what's next?
Google has been talking to games firms about integrating their games as just one part of a new social networking service, reports the Wall Street Journal. Disney's newly acquired Playdom, Electronic Art's reasonably newly acquired Playfish and Zynga have all been approached; and if the latter looks ripe for acquisition, you won't be surprised that Google recently invested a significant chunk in the firm.
Chief executive Eric Schmidt would not comment on the service this week but said "the world doesn't need a copy" of Facebook. The world might not need that, but what Google needs is a copy of the most advertiser-friendly parts of that and, as the Zynga investment shows, Google is keen to move in on one of the web's hottest - and most profitable - growing markets of casual gaming. As WSJ says, a Google offering would also be good news for developers worrying over over-dependence on Facebook.
Games are an important traffic generator which substantially increase the amount of time users spend on sites - ultimately good for the host site because of associated advertising and the developer, who. with the right game can attract a large audience. But as Facebook's audience and its advertising network continues to grow, it presents an increasingly serious threat to Google.
Expect relations to grow more aggressive between the two.
This article was published on guardian.co.uk at 10.07 BST on Wednesday 28 July 2010. It was last modified at 11.23 BST on Wednesday 28 July 2010.
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